Qantas filed a lawsuit against the Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA), alleging that the pilot union had prevented outside hiring for the Airbus A380. On April 26, 2023, the airline filed a lawsuit against the union, and on May 26, 2023, Justice Goodman of Australia’s Federal Court set a hearing date. Since the Australian carrier has been reintroducing more of the Super Jumbos in recent months, the Sydney Morning Herald reports that the dispute in the Fair Work petition is about who would be promoted to fly the Airbus A380.
While AIPA has noted that Qantas intends to hire externally, doing so would violate a practice that has existed for “more than half a century” of promoting internal applicants to fill posts on larger aircraft, in this case, the A380. “The pilot seniority and allocation system have been accepted at Qantas for more than half a century to provide dedicated and long-serving pilots with a clear career pathway,” Tony Lucas, the President of AIPA, was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald. To make the most use of its resources, Qantas aims to train as many pilots as it can despite the fact that the airline is already “at near capacity” in terms of pilot training.